How Can You Tell If a Renovation Was Done Right Before You Buy?

By Aubre J. Stacknick, Global Real Estate Advisor, Piatt Sotheby's International Realty. Originally published on aubrestacknick.com.

Start with the parts of the house the renovation did not show you: permits, the age of the systems behind the walls, and how the new work meets the old.

A freshly renovated house photographs beautifully. New floors, painted cabinets, quartz counters, a bright white bathroom. Buyers fall for it in the first ten seconds, and that is the point.

Pretty gets your attention. What is behind it determines whether it is a smart buy.

Aubre J. Stacknick is a Global Real Estate Advisor with Piatt Sotheby's International Realty in Pittsburgh, PA, helping buyers and sellers across Western Pennsylvania see a home through a builder's eyes. A renovated listing is where that background earns its keep.

What is the difference between renovated and well renovated?

A renovated house has new finishes. A well renovated house has new finishes sitting on top of systems that were checked, corrected, and permitted.

The two can look identical in listing photos. The difference shows up later, in a water stain on a new ceiling, a breaker that trips when the microwave and the toaster run together, or a tile floor that cracks along a line because the subfloor under it moved.

Here's what I would look at first.

Was the work permitted?

Under Pennsylvania's construction code, structural changes, moved plumbing, and electrical panel upgrades usually need a permit. Like-for-like swaps, such as a new water heater or furnace with the same rating, or new fixtures in the same spot, often do not. Some townships require more than the state does, so the township is the final word. Paint, flooring, and cabinets usually need nothing.

Ask the listing agent for a list of the work done and the permits pulled. Then compare it to what you see. A new primary bathroom where there used to be a closet, with no plumbing permit, is a question worth asking before you write an offer, not after.

The township keeps the permit history. Some, like Cranberry Township, release it only to the owner, so the seller may need to request it for you. A missing permit on major work is worth knowing before you write an offer.

No permit does not automatically mean bad work. It means nobody outside the seller's crew looked at it.

How old are the systems behind the new finishes?

A kitchen can be new while the electrical panel, the water heater, the furnace, and the main drain line are thirty years old. Renovations aimed at a quick sale often spend the budget where buyers look and skip what they do not.

Ask for the age of:

• The roof
• The furnace and air conditioner
• The water heater
• The electrical panel and whether the wiring was updated or only the outlets and fixtures
• The main sewer line, especially in an older home where the original line has never been replaced

If the answer to most of those is "original," the renovation is cosmetic. That can still be a fine purchase. It just needs to be priced like one.

Where does the new work meet the old?

This is where I slow down in a showing. The seams tell you how careful the crew was.

• Look at the floor where new tile or hardwood meets an older room. A clean, level transition took planning. A thick threshold strip or a ramp can mean the floors were not level to begin with.
• Look at the ceiling directly under a new bathroom. Fresh paint in one patch on an otherwise older ceiling is worth a question.
• Open the cabinet under the new kitchen sink. New cabinets over old, stained, or patched plumbing tell you where the money stopped.
• Look at the basement below the kitchen and bathrooms. That is where shortcuts in plumbing and wiring are easiest to see.
• Check the outlets in the kitchen and bathrooms for ground fault protection. Missing protection in a renovated kitchen suggests the electrical work was not inspected.

None of these is a diagnosis. They are signals that tell us we need more information.

Which renovations deserve the most scrutiny?

Not every update carries the same risk. A painted room or new light fixtures tells you very little. These tell you a lot.

• Removed walls. Opening a floor plan is the most common renovation in older homes and the one most likely to involve structure.
• Moved bathrooms and kitchens. Moving a toilet or a sink means moving drain lines, vents, and often electrical. That is where unpermitted work hides.
• Finished basements. In Western Pennsylvania, a basement finished without solving the water first can trap moisture behind new drywall. Look for a dehumidifier running hard, musty air, or baseboards that are swollen at the bottom.
• New windows and doors in an older house. Good installs are flashed and sealed. Rushed ones leak at the corners, and the stain shows up inside a season or two later.
• Additions. An addition has its own foundation, roof tie-in, and heating. Each seam between old and new is a place water can get in.

If the listing includes one of these, the questions get more specific and the inspection plan gets wider. That is not a reason to pass on the house. It is a reason to know exactly what you are buying.

What should you ask the seller and the listing agent?

Three questions cover most of it:

• Who did the work, and was it a licensed contractor or the owner?
• Which items had permits, and were they closed out with a final inspection?
• Are there receipts, warranties, or invoices for the roof, the mechanicals, and any structural work?

A seller who did good work is usually glad to show it. Vague answers are information too.

What should your inspection focus on in a renovated home?

A general home inspection is the starting point. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau tells buyers to schedule an independent home inspection as soon as they choose a home, so there is time to act on what it finds.

In a renovated home, I often suggest adding:

• A sewer scope if the house is older and the main line has not been replaced
• A licensed electrician if the panel is old or the wiring was only partly updated
• A structural engineer if walls were removed or the floor plan was opened up
• A roofer if the roof age is unknown or the attic shows old staining

Paying the right specialist before you are committed costs far less than finding the same problem after closing.

Does a red flag mean you should walk away?

Not always. A red flag gives you four choices.

• Walk away, when the problem is structural or the seller will not let you investigate.
• Bring in a specialist, when you need a real answer before deciding.
• Negotiate, when the fix is known and can be priced.
• Move forward, when the issue is small and you understand it.

The goal is not to scare you out of a renovated house. Many of them are excellent. The goal is to replace surprise with information before you sign.

How would I work through one? The open floor plan

Picture a 1970s split level where the wall between the kitchen and the living room came out to open the space. The listing calls it fully updated.

The questions I ask: Was that wall load bearing? If it was, what is carrying the load now, and did an engineer specify it? Was there a permit? Is there sagging or new cracking in the ceiling line above where the wall used to be?

If the answers are a permit, an engineered beam, and a clean ceiling, that is a well renovated house. If the answers are "not sure," we bring in a structural engineer before we go further.

The common mistakes buyers make with renovated homes

• Judging the house by the kitchen and bathrooms and skipping the basement
• Assuming new finishes mean new systems
• Waiving or shortening the inspection to compete, on a house with unpermitted work
• Not asking who did the work
• Paying a fully renovated price for a cosmetic renovation

For more on spotting problems in any house, read How Can I Tell if a House Has Expensive Problems Before I Buy It?. If you are weighing a project house against a finished one, Fixer-Upper vs. Renovated Home in Pittsburgh walks through the tradeoffs. And if the house is older, What Should I Look For When Buying an Older Pittsburgh Home? covers the systems that matter most.

Common questions

If you are looking at a renovated house and want a second set of eyes on what is behind the finishes, book a 30-minute call. Bring the address.